RAVPower Mini SSD review: A speedy, portable drive smaller than a candy bar

Portable hard drives normally aren't the sexiest things in the world, merely they're often necessary for when you need to carry effectually sensitive files, shop a batch of photos you just took, or just want to add some extra storage space to your game console.

That said, RAVPower has managed to make me believe external bulldoze tin be sexy with its new Mini SSD. The 500GB drive packs speedy transfer rates into a sleek package that is easy to slide in a pocketbook on the go and looks downright handsome when in utilise. And it's smaller than a chocolate bar (well, most, anyway).

Lookin' expert

RAVPower Mini SSD (500GB)

$75 at Amazon

Bottom line: The RAVPower Mini SSD looks great, is super portable, and manages to deliver some groovy speeds for on-the-get files transfers.

Pros

Speedy transfer rates
Affordable
Sleek and super portable
Offers encryption tools

Cons

Slightly slower than rated speed
Plastic height is a fingerprint magnet

What yous'll like about the RAVPower Mini SSD

RAVPower is a proper name y'all'll oft see tossed effectually when discussing mobile accessories, right aslope Anker and Aukey. The company has a legacy of churning out some of the more solid ability banks and wall chargers you lot tin can get your hands-on, and you can run across that legacy stand out with the Mini SSD.

The construction of the Mini SSD is solid, with the bulldoze wrapped in a simple shell made up of a gray metal bottom and a black plastic top. The whole package looks rather sleek, though my only gripe is that the blackness top portion is glossy, so it's a virtual breeding footing for fingerprints. What is well-nigh impressive about how the drive looks, however, is its size: it's just about four inches long and an inch wide.

The drive operates over a USB iii.i Gen 2 interface, and you lot plug in through a USB-C port on i end. Information technology'south nice to see RAVPower adopting USB-C hither, equally it's something that all manufacturers should be striving to add on going forward. When information technology comes to connecting the drive to some other device, notwithstanding, you're thankfully not express to USB-C; in that location are both USB-C-to-C and USB-A-to-C cables included in the box for all your connection needs.

RAVPower'due south Mini SSD fabricated me believe portable drives tin exist sexy.

The Mini SSD comes with 500GB of storage, which is a sizeable chunk of space whether you're going to utilize it to acquit files around or desire to add together some actress room to a game panel. The drive is rated at speeds of upward to 540MB/s, but I only managed to height out at read and write speeds of 425MB/s and 412MB/s, respectively. That's notwithstanding pretty fast for an external drive, and I noticed a significant improvement in loading times when I was using the drive as extra storage for my Xbox One X.

If you're worried nearly heat at all, the RAVPower Mini SSD remains relatively absurd when in operation. I didn't notice any significant upticks in oestrus while using it with my PC, and the drive only got upwards to what I would call "slightly warm" when under heavy employ playing Far Cry 5 on my Xbox One Ten.

Lastly, those concerned about security volition be happy to hear the RAVPower Mini SSD comes loaded with optional software to encrypt the drive. The software is stored on a separate role of the drive from the rest of your files, and you tin get it set up correct after connecting the bulldoze to your PC. Doing then will lock your files behind a password prompt each fourth dimension someone wants to access them.

What yous'll dislike nigh the RAVPower Mini SSD

The only major complaint I have with the RAVPower Mini SSD is that I wasn't able to achieve the tiptop speeds of 540MB/due south that it's rated for. It's true that most speed estimates that yous come across for drives are tested in perfect weather, then y'all're unlikely to get the maximum rated performance on any drive. Still, there's enough of headroom left above the 425MB/southward that I topped out at in my testing.

If I were to nitpick, I'd like to run into RAVPower replace the sleeky plastic on the top of the drive with either a matte plastic or total metal enclosure in a future iteration. The current end looks amazing out of the box, to exist sure. But given the fact that you're likely to exist handling the drive quite a bit as you take it on the go, the fingerprint magnet that is the top of the bulldoze can look pretty gnarly later on a while.

I likewise would similar to run into additional storage options in this form factor. The 500GB model is a decent amount of space, but there are likely to exist plenty of people out in that location who either don't need that much space in a portable bulldoze or who need much more.

So should yous buy the RAVPower Mini SSD?

At $eighty, it's hard not to recommend the RAVPower Mini SSD. What y'all're getting for your money is a pretty speedy, super portable 500GB for a relatively affordable cost. It's a dainty petty accessory to have for anyone has some large files they need to carry effectually with them, and it worked admirably every bit an added storage drive for my Xbox One Ten in my time with it.

The only hitch is that, at least for at present, you're limited to the 512GB option. It'd be great to see RAVPower expand this form cistron to boosted sizes for those who may demand a little more storage or a little less.

Sleek and portable

RAVPower Mini SSD (500GB)

Ready to become

If you need a dose of extra portable storage, then the RAVPower Mini SSD is a solid choice. Encased in an attractive package, the drive comes with 500GB of free space and is super portable.

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